Motor-operated spring-closing circuit breaker

ABSTRACT

A circuit breaker comprises a crankshaft, a closing spring connected to the crankshaft and an improved motor-operating structure for driving the crankshaft to charge the closing spring. The motor-operating structure comprises a ratchet wheel mounted on the crankshaft, a reciprocating pawl structure supported to drive the ratchet wheel, and a motor comprising an output shaft and cam means or driving means on the output shaft operable upon each revolution of the output shaft to operate the pawl structure to advance the ratchet wheel to thereby charge the closing spring. The motor is positioned alongside the closing spring with the axis of the output shaft thereof normal to a plane in which the axis of the crankshaft is located.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Fred Bould Pittsburgh, Pa. [21] Appl.No. 836,313 [22] Filed June 25, 1969 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [73]Assignee Westinghouse Electric Corporation Pittsburgh, Pa.

[54] MOTOR-OPERATED SPRING-CLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER 10 Claims, 6 DrawingFigs.

[52] U.S. Cl. 200/153SC, 74/142,185/40 [51] Int. Cl 1101b 3/26 [50]Field of Search 200/153, 23; 185/37,40; 74/22, 24, 84, 142, 128; 310/37,49

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,254,186 5/1966 Fischer200/153 3,183,332 5/1965 Frink et al. 200/153 3,234,804 2/1966 Caswell200/153 3,115,785 12/1963 Simmons 74/125 3,431,372 3/1969 Obermann200/38 FORElGN PATENTS 672,637 10/1963 Canada 200/153 PrimaryExaminer-Milton O. Hirshfield Assistant Examiner-B. A. ReynoldsAtmmeysA. T. Stratton, Clement L. McHale and W. A.

Elchik ABSTRACT: A circuit breaker comprises a crankshaft, a closingspring connected to the crankshaft and an improved motor-operatingstructure for driving the crankshaft to charge the closing spring. Themotor-operating structure comprises a ratchet wheel mounted on thecrankshaft, a reciprocating pawl structure supported to drive theratchet wheel, and a motor comprising an output shaft and cam means ordriving means on the output shaft operable upon each revolution of theoutput shaft to operate the pawl structure to advance the ratchet wheelto thereby charge the closing spring. The motor is positioned alongsidethe closing spring with the axis of the output shaft thereof normal to aplane in which the axis of the crankshaft is located.

PATENTED JUN 1 5 IBYI sum 1 or 5 INVENTOR Fred Bould ATTORNEY SHEET 2 0F5 FIG.2.

PATENTEDJUNISIB'II 3,5 5,330

saw u or 5 PATENTEUJUMSIBYI 3585330 SHEET 5 [1F 5 FIG.6.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Motor-operatedspring-closing circuit breaker.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the patent to W. H. Fischer, No.3,254,186 issued May 31, 1966, there is disclosed a motor-operatedspring-closing circuit breaker comprising a crankshaft having a closingspring connected thereto, a ratchet wheel supported thereon for chargingthe closing spring and a closing cam thereon operable to close thebreaker upon release of the charged closing spring. The ratchet wheel isoperated by means of a driving pawl that is pivotally connected to aneccentric on the output shaft of the motor. The motor is positioned suchthat the output shaft thereof extends parallel to the axis of rotationof the crankshaft. Upon each revolution of the output shaft of the motorthe driving pawl is operated to advance the ratchet wheel to therebymove the crankshaft to charge the closing spring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A circuit breaker comprises a crankshaft, aclosing spring having one end thereof operatively connected to a crankarm or eccentric on the crankshaft, a ratchet wheel fixedly supported onthe crankshaft for rotation with the crankshaft, and a closing camfixedly supported on the crankshaft and rotatable upon discharge of thecharged closing spring to effect a closing operation of the circuitbreaker. A reciprocating member, having a driving pawl supportedthereon, is supported on the crankshaft for reciprocal movement,relative to the crankshaft, about an axis concentric with the axis ofthe crankshaft. A motor is supported alongside the closing spring withthe axis of the output shaft thereof normal to a plane in which the axisof the crankshaft is disposed. An operating arm, having a rollerthereon, is mounted on the motor output shaft for rotation with themotor output shaft. The reciprocating member is spring-biased toward theroller and comprises a curved surface that cooperates with the roller.Upon each revolution of the motor output shaft the roller is operatedagainst the curved surface of the reciprocating member to advance thereciprocating member which operates through the driving pawl to advancethe ratchet wheel one tooth. The ratchet wheel is provided with amissingtooth portion so that the motor may overrun past thespring-charged position of the crankshaft. The circuit breaker of thisinvention has the advantages over the circuit breaker of theabove-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,186 in that the motor-operatedstructure is simple and compact; a standard drilltype motor can beutilized in the combination; the motor can overrun past thespring-charged position without applying damaging forces to themechanism; and the operative connection between the motor andcrankshaft, which converts motion about one axis to motion about anotheraxis which is disposed in a plane normal to the one axis, is asimplified operative connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 'lis a side view, with partsbroken away, of a multipole circuit breaker constructed in accordancewith the principles.

FIG. 5 is a top view, with parts broken away, of the motor.- operatingmechanism seen in FIG. 4 with the closing cam shown on the crankshaft;and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, taken generallyalong the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis shown, in FIG. 1, a circuit breaker 5 comprising a supporting frame 7mounted on wheels .or rollers 9. The circuit breaker 5; is a three-polecircuit breaker comprising a stationary contact 11 and a movable contact13 cooperating with the stationary contact 11. The movable contact 13 issupported on a contact arm 15 that is pivoted on a pin 17 and driven bymeans of an elongated rod structure 19 that is pivotally connected tothe contact arm 15 at 21. The elongated rod structure 19 is pivotallyconnected to a lever 23 that is fixedly supported on a jack shaft 25(FIGS. 2 and 3) that is supported for rotation about an axis normal tothe paper as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The jack shaft 25 is common to allthree poles of the circuit breaker and rotatable to simultaneously movethe movable contacts 13 of the three poles between open and closedpositions. The circuit breaker 5 is a roll-out metal-clad-type circuitbreaker having a general construction that is well known in the art.

The circuit breaker 5 comprises an internal supporting frame structure27 (FIGS. 2 and 3) comprising a pair of spaced frame members 29. Thejack shaft 25 is supported on suitable bearings on the frame members 29.A hexagonal shaped crankshaft 31 is supported on suitable bearings onthe frame members 29 for rotational movement about the elongated axisthereof which is normal to the plane of the paper as seen in FIGS. 2 and3. A closing cam 33 (FIG. 3) is fixedly secured to the crankshaft 31. Inaddition to the closing cam 33, a ratchet wheel 35 and a crank arm 37are each fixedly secured to the crankshaft 31. A reciprocating member 39(FIG. 4) is mounted on the crankshaft 31 for movement relative to thecrankshaft 31. about the axis of the crankshaft 311, and a reciprocatingmember 41 is mounted on the crankshaft 31 for movement relative to thecrankshaft 31 about the axis of the crankshaft 31. The operation of themembers 39 and 41 will be hereinafter more fully described.

The crank arm 37 (FIG. 2) comprises a first leg 43 having a roller 45mounted thereon and a second leg 47 having a pin 49 thereon that extendsthrough an opening in an elongated rod 51. The rod 51 extends through acoil closing spring 53 and is connected to a spring-retaining plate 55at the one end thereof. The spring 53, at the left-hand (FIG. 2) endthereof engages the supporting frame structure 27.

The operating mechanism comprises a tripping latch assembly 59 (FIG. 3),a toggle linkage 61, and a closing latch assembly 63 (FIG. 2). Thetripping latch assembly 59, toggle linkage 61, closing latch assembly63, closing cam 33 and closing spring 53, along with the operationsthereof, are of the type more specifically described in theabove-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,186. Thus, only a brief descriptionof the construction and operation of those parts is provided herein.

The operating mechanism is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the contact-closedposition with the closing spring 53 in the spring-charged position. Theclosing spring 53 is latched in the spring-charged position by a latchmember 67 that is pivotally supported on the frame 29 by means of a pin69 and that engages the roller 45 of the crank-arm 37. A trigger latch71 engages a roller 73 supported on the latch member 67 to latch thelatch member 67. The circuit breaker is latched in the contact-closedposition against the bias of an opening spring 75 by the tripping-latchassembly 59 (FIG. 3). The toggle linkage 61 comprises a toggle link 77and a toggle link 79 pivotally connected together by a knee pivot havinga roller 81 thereon. The toggle link 77 is pivotally connected to thelever 23 by means of a pin 33 and the toggle link 79 is pivotallyconnected to a latch member 85 by means of a pin 87. The latch member 85is supported for pivotal movement on a pin 89. The latch member 85 islatched against counterclockwise (FIG. 3) movement by means of a latchmember 91 pivotally supported intermediate the ends thereof on a pin 93.As can be seen in FIG. 3, the latch member 91 is provided with-aseparate roller at each of the opposite ends thereof. The latch member91 at one end thereof engages the latch 85 to prevent counterclockwisemovement of the latch 85, and the latch member 91 is engaged by atrigger latch 97, pivotally supported on a pin 99, that latches thelatch member 91 in latching position. When it is desired to open thecircuit breaker, the tripping latch 97 may be rotated in a clockwise(FIG. 3) direction about the pin 99. This movement releases the latchmember 91 which can then move counterclockwise about the pin 93 torelease the latch 85. Upon release of the latch 85, the latch 85 is freeto move counterclockwise about the pin 89 to thereby permit the togglelink 79 to move to the right with the roller 81 moving off of the highsurface of the cam 33. The opening spring 75 then operates to rotate thelever 23 and jack shaft 25 in a clockwise (FIG. 3) direction to permitmovement of the rods 19 (FIG. 1) downward to permit counterclockwisemovement of the contact arms about their associated pivots 17 to theopen position. During the tripping movement, a resetting spring 103(FIG. 3) pulls the toggle 61 to move the roller 81 into thenotch-portion of the cam 33. The circuit breaker may then be closed byrelease of the closing latch assembly 63 (FIG. 2). The circuit breakeris closed by pivoting the closing latch 71 in a clockwise (FIG. 2)direction about the pin 72 to release the latch member 67 permitting thelatch member 67 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction about the pin69 to move the latch end thereof off of the roller 45 to release thecrank arm 37 and crankshaft 31. Upon release of the crank arm 37, thecompressed closing spring 53 discharges moving the plate or springsupport 55 to the right to move the rod 51 to the right to operatethrough the crank arm 37 to rotate the crankshaft 31 in acounterclockwise (FIGS. 2 and 3) direction. Upon counterclockwisemovement of the crankshaft 31 the closing cam 33 forces the roller 81upward to force the levers 23 and jack shaft 25 in a counterclockwisedirection to thereby move the rods 19 (FIG. 1) upward to pivot thecontact arms 59, about their respective pivots 17, to the closedposition seen in FIG. 1. The closing spring 53 may then be charged byoperating the ratchet wheel 35 in a counterclockwise direction in amanner to be hereinafter more specifically described. Upon rotation ofthe ratchet wheel 35 in a counterclockwise direction the rod 51 ispulled to the left to pull the plate 55 to the left (FIG. 2) to compressthe closing spring 53 during the first half of a 360 revolution of thecrankshaft 31. As the pin 49, to which the arm 51 is connected, passesover center the closing spring 53, which is fully charged at that point,expands slightly moving the crankshaft 31 in a counterclockwisedirection, and the closing latch 67 engages the roller 45 to again latchthe spring 53 and crankshaft 31 in the spring-charged position seen inFIG. 2. In this position, the roller 81 (FIG. 3) is maintained on thehigh point of the closing cam 33 to maintain the contacts in the closedposition.

Improved means is provided for operating the ratchet wheel 35 to movethe crankshaft 31 in order to charge the closing spring 53. Amotor-operating mechanism 109 (FIG. 4) comprises a supporting frame 111having a motor 113 fixedly supported thereon with the axis of the outputshaft 115 of the motor extending in a direction that is normal to thedirection of extension of the axis of the crankshaft 31. The axis of theoutput shaft 115 is normal to a plane in which the axis of thecrankshaft 31 ll, disposed. As can be understood with reference to FIG.2, the axis of the crankshaft 31 is normal to the planes of the spacedparallel planar supporting plates 29 and the axis of the motor outputshaft is parallel to the planes of the supporting plates 29. Referringto FIGS. 4 and 5, an operating arm 119, having a roller 121 on the freeend thereof, is fixedly secured to the output shaft 115 to rotate withthe output shaft 115. The operating arm 119 and roller 121 serve as cammeans or driving means for driving the reciprocating member 39. A plate125 is fixedly secured to the reciprocating member 39 by bolt means 127.The plate 125 is provided with an arcuate bottom surface 129 that isengaged by the roller 121. A spring 131 is provided to bias thereciprocating member 39 downward which downward movement is limited bythe engagement of the reciprocating member 39 with the roller 121. Apawl 139 is pivotally mounted on the reciprocating member 39 by means ofa pin 141 and biased in a counterclockwise FIG. 4) direction by means ofa torsion spring 143. The reciprocating member 39 is mounted on abearing member 147 that is fixed to the hexagonal crankshaft 31 with thereciprocating member 39 being pivotally movable against a surface 148 ofthe bearing 147 relative to the crankshaft 31. A handle-operatingreciprocating member 41 is also mounted on the bearing 147 forreciprocal pivotal movement on the bearing relative to the crankshaft31. A pawl member 149 is pivotally mounted on the reciprocating member41 by means of a pin 151 and biased in a counterclockwise (FIG. 4)direction by means of a torsion spring 153. The ratchet wheel 35 isprovided with a missing-tooth portion 155 that is adjacent the pawl 139when the closing spring is fully charged so that continued operation ofthe motor 113 after the spring is fully charged will not apply damagingforces to the parts of the circuit breaker. Thus the motor can overrunpast the springcharged position of the crankshaft 31 until the motorslows to a stop position. A tension spring 159 is connected between astationary part 161 of the circuit breaker frame and the reciprocatingmember 41 to bias the reciprocating member 41 in a clockwise (FIG. 4)direction into engagement with a stop surface 163 on the stationary part161.

The parts are shown in FIGS. 2-4 in the contact-closed position with theclosing spring 53 in the charged position. In this position, it will benoted that the pawl 139 is adjacent the missing-tooth portion 155 of theratchet wheel 35 so that as the motor 113 slows to a stopped positionafter the spring is charged the reciprocating member 39 can reciprocatewithout applying damaging forces to the parts of the circuit breaker.When the breaker is tripped open and the closing latch structure 63 isthen operated to close the breaker in the manner hereinbefore described,the crankshaft 31 will be moved approximately l as the spring 53discharges to close the breaker. This will move the missing-toothportion 155 approximately 180 and away from the driving pawl 139. Withthe closing spring 53 discharged, the motor 113 is energized to operatethe ratchet wheel 35 to charge the spring 53. Upon energization of themotor 113, the output shaft thereof is rotated to move the roller 121from the position seen in full lines in FIG. 6 through the positionsseen in broken lines in FIG. 6 with the axis of the roller 121 moving ina circle as the output shaft 115 of the motor is rotated. During eachrevolution of the output shaft 115, the roller 121 will be moved tooperate against the plate to drive the reciprocating member 39 in acounterclockwise (FIG. 4) direction during the first 180 of movement ofthe roller 121 during which movement the driving pawl 139 will advancethe ratchet wheel by one tooth. During the second 180 of the full 360movement of the roller 121 the holding pawl 149 (FIG. 4) will hold theratchet wheel 135 in the advanced position and the reciprocating member39, under the bias of the spring 131, will be returned clockwise to thelowermost position seen in FIG. 4. This sequence will occur during eachrevolution of the motor output shaft 115 until the rod 51 (FIG. 2) movesovercenter past the 180 position whereupon the spring 53 will bias therod 51 to the right (FIG. 2) tending to move the crankshaft 31counterclockwise which movement is limited by the latch member 67 whichengages the roller 45 on the crank arm 37 to latch the crankshaft 31 inthe spring-charged position seen in FIG. 2. With the spring 53 in thecharged position seen in FIG. 2, the ratchet wheel 35 is positioned suchthat the missing-tooth portion thereof is opposite the driving pawl 139so that upon continued rotation of the motor 114, as the motor slows toa stop, the reciprocating member 39 will reciprocate harmlessly withoutapplying damaging forces to the parts. The motor 113 may beautomatically started and stopped by suitable limit switch meansoperated by the mechanism parts in a well-known manner. As can beunderstood with reference to FIG. 4, the arcuate surface 129 of theplate 125 permits the plate 125 to move across the face of the roller129 as the reciprocating member 39 reciprocates against the roller.

The ratchet wheel 35 may be manually operated by manual reciprocation ofthe reciprocating member 41 during which movement the pawl 149 serves asthe driving pawl with the pawl 139 serving as the holding pawl. Themember 41 is provided with a pocket at the end thereof for receiving ahandleextension that can be inserted into the pocket to permit manualcranking operation of the reciprocating member 41.

Iclaim:

1. A circuit breaker comprising a stationary contact, a movable contact,a crankshaft rotatable about a first axis that extends in a firstdirection, a closing spring operatively connected to said crankshaft, aratchet wheel on said crankshaft rotatable with said crankshaft aboutsaid first axis, a reciprocating member having a pawl thereon and beingsupported on said crankshaft for reciprocating pivotal movement tooperate said pawl to advance said ratchet wheel upon reciprocationthereof, a motor comprising an output shaft and being supported with theoutput shaft rotating about a second axis normal to a plane in whichsaid first axis lies such that said second axis extends in a directiongenerally normal to the direction of extension of said first axis,driving means on said output shaft, said driving means being separatefrom said reciprocating member and operable upon rotation of said outputshaft to operate against said reciprocating member to advance saidratchet wheel to thereby charge said closing spring.

2. A circuit breaker according to claim 1, said driving means comprisingan operating ann movable upon rotation of said output shaft through 180to move said reciprocating member to thereby move said pawl against atooth of said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel, and springmeans operating to return said reciprocating member to position saidpawl means adjacent another tooth of said ratchet wheel upon the second180 of a full revolution of said output shaft.

3. A circuit breaker according to claim 2, said reciprocating memberbeing a first reciprocating member and said pawl being a first pawl, asecond reciprocating member supported on said crankshaft forreciprocating movement, said second reciprocating member having a secondpawl thereon, and during the return of said first reciprocating memberto position said first pawl against said other tooth of said ratchetwheel said second pawl on said second reciprocating member holding saidratchet wheel in the advanced position thereof.

4. A circuit breaker according to claim 3 and for manual operations ofsaid ratchet wheel said first pawl on said first reciprocating memberserving as a holding pawl and said second pawl on said secondreciprocating member serving as a driving pawl, said secondreciprocating member being manually operable to move said second pawlagainst said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel to therebycharge said closing spring.

5. A circuit breaker according to claim 2, said crank arm on said outputshaft having a roller thereon cooperable with said first reciprocatingmember, and said reciprocating member having an arcuate surface thereonengaged by said roller to facilitate movement of said arcuate surfaceacross the face of said roller as said roller is operated to drive saidfirst reciprocating member.

6. A circuit breaker comprising a stationary contact, a movable contact,a supporting frame structure comprising a pair of spaced planargenerally parallel plates, a crankshaft supported for rotation about afirst axis generally nonnal to the planes of said plates, a closingspring operatively connected to said crankshaft, a ratchet wheel fixedlysupported on said crankshaft for rotation with said crankshaft aboutsaid first axis, a reciprocating member having a pawl thereon and beingsupported on said-crankshaft for reci rocating ivotal movemen about theaxis of said crankshat to opera c said pawl to advance said ratchetwheel upon reciprocation thereof, a motor comprising an output shaft andbeing supported with the output shaftv rotatable about a second axisgenerally parallel to the planes of said plates, driving means on saidoutput shaft separate from said reciprocating member, upon rotation ofsaid output shaft said driving means moving with said output shaft tooperate against said reciprocating member to advance said ratchet wheelto thereby charge said closing spring.

7. A circuit breaker according to claim 6, said driving means comprisingan operating arm movable upon rotation of said output shaft through tomove said reciprocating member to thereby move said pawl against a toothof said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel, and spring meansoperating to return said reciprocating member to position said pawladjacent another tooth of said ratchet wheel upon a second 180 movementof a full revolution of said output shaft. i

8. A circuit breaker according to claim 7, said reciprocating memberbeing a first reciprocating member and said pawl being a first pawl, asecond reciprocating member supported on said crankshaft forreciprocating pivotal movement about the axis of said crankshaftrelative to said crankshaft, said second reciprocating member having asecond pawl thereon, and during the return of said first reciprocatingmember to position said first pawl against said other tooth' of saidratchet wheel said second pawl on said second reciprocating memberholding said ratchet wheel in the advanced position thereof.

9. A circuit breaker according to claim 8, and for a manual operation ofsaid ratchet wheel said first pawl on said first reciprocating memberserving as a holding pawl and said second pawl on said secondreciprocating member serving as a driving pawl, said secondreciprocating member being manually operable to move said second pawlagainst said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel to therebycharge said closing spring.

10. A circuit breaker according to claim 7, said crank arm on saidoutput shaft having a roller thereon coopcrable with said firstreciprocating member, and said reciprocating member having an arcuatesurface thereon engaged by said roller to facilitate movement of saidarcuate surface across the face of said roller as said roller isoperated to drive said first reciprocating member.

1. A circuit breaker comprising a stationary contact, a movable contact,a crankshaft rotatable about a first axis that extends in a firstdirection, a closing spring operatively connected to said crankshaft, aratchet wheel on said crankshaft rotatable with said crankshaft aboutsaid first axis, a reciprocating member having a pawl thereon and beingsupported on said crankshaft for reciprocating pivotal movement tooperate said pawl to advance said ratchet wheel upon reciprocationthereof, a motor comprising an output shaft and being supported with theoutput shaft rotating about a second axis normal to a plane in whichsaid first axis lies such that said second axis extends in a directiongenerally normal to the direction of extension of said first axis,driving means on said output shaft, said driving means being separatefrom said reciprocating member and operable upon rotation of said outputshaft to operate against said reciprocating member to advance saidratchet wheel to thereby charge said closing spring.
 2. A circuitbreaker according to claim 1, said driving means comprising an operatingarm movable upon rotation of said output shaft through 180* to move saidreciprocating member to thereby move said pawl against a tooth of saidratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel, and spring means operatingto return said reciprocating member to position said pawl means adjacentanother tooth of said ratchet wheel upon the second 180* of a fullrevolution of said output shaft.
 3. A circuit breaker according to claim2, said reciprocating member being a first reciprocating member and saidpawl being a first pawl, a second reciprocating member supported on saidcrankshaft for reciprocating movement, said second reciprocating memberhaving a second pawl thereon, and during the return of said firstreciprocating member to position said first pawl against said othertooth of said ratchet wheel said second pawl on said secondreciprocating member holding said ratchet wheel in the advanced positionthereof.
 4. A circuit breaker according to claim 3 and for manualoperations of said ratchet wheel said first pawl on said firstreciprocating member serving as a holding pawl and said second pawl onsaid second reciprocating member serving as a driving pawl, said secondreciprocating member being manually operable to move said second pawlagainst said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel to therebycharge said closing spring.
 5. A circuit breaker according to claim 2,said crank arm on said output shaft having a roller thereon cooperablewith said first reciprocating member, and said reciprocating memberhaving an arcuate surface thereon engaged by said roller to facilitatemovement of said arcuate surface across the face of said roller as saidroller is operated to drive said first reciprocating member.
 6. Acircuit breaker comprising a stationary contact, a movable contact, asupporting frame structure comprising a pair of spaced planar generallyparallel plates, a crankshaft supported for rotation about a first axisgenerally normal to the planes of said plates, a closing springoperatively connected to said crankshaft, a ratchet wheel fixedlysupported on said crankshaft for rotation with said crankshaft aboutsaid first axis, a reciprocating member having a pawl thereon and beingsupported on said crankshaft for reciprocating pivotal movement aboutthe axis of said crankshaft to operate said pawl to advance said ratchetwheel upon reciprocation thereof, a motor comprising an output shaft andbeing supported with the output shaft rotatable about a second axisgenerally parallel to the planes of said plates, driving means on saidoutput shaft separate from said reciprocating member, upon rotation ofsaid output shaft said driving means moving with said output shaft tooperate against said reciprocating member to advance said ratchet wheelto thereby charge said closing spring.
 7. A circuit breaker according toclaim 6, said driving means comprising an operating arm movable uponrotation of said output shaft through 180* to move said reciprocatingmember to thereby move said pawl against a tooth of said ratchet wheelto advance said ratchet wheel, and spring means operating to return saidreciprocating member to position said pawl adjacent another tooth ofsaid ratchet wheel upon a second 180* movement of a full revolution ofsaid output shaft.
 8. A circuit breaker according to claim 7, saidreciprocating member being a first reciprocating member and said pawlbeing a first pawl, a second reciprocating member supported on saidcrankshaft for reciprocating pivotal movement about the axis of saidcrankshaft relative to said crankshaft, said second reciprocating memberhaving a second pawl thereon, and during the return of said firstreciprocating member to position said first pawl against said othertooth of said ratchet wheel said second pawl on said secondreciprocating member holding Said ratchet wheel in the advanced positionthereof.
 9. A circuit breaker according to claim 8, and for a manualoperation of said ratchet wheel said first pawl on said firstreciprocating member serving as a holding pawl and said second pawl onsaid second reciprocating member serving as a driving pawl, said secondreciprocating member being manually operable to move said second pawlagainst said ratchet wheel to advance said ratchet wheel to therebycharge said closing spring.
 10. A circuit breaker according to claim 7,said crank arm on said output shaft having a roller thereon cooperablewith said first reciprocating member, and said reciprocating memberhaving an arcuate surface thereon engaged by said roller to facilitatemovement of said arcuate surface across the face of said roller as saidroller is operated to drive said first reciprocating member.